A novel approach to the placement of Palmaz-Schatz biliary stents in saphenous vein grafts.

Abstract

The placement of Palmaz-Schatz biliary stents has become a successful method to treat stenoses in large saphenous vein grafts. Unlike coronary stents, the biliary stents are not routinely delivered with a selective delivery sheath and may be more difficult to deliver and prone to detachment from the balloon and even embolization during delivery. In order to enhance the ability to deliver these stents, a guide-within-a-guide system was developed. A 7F guiding catheter was used as a selective delivery sheath within a standard guiding catheter. Nineteen biliary stents were successfully placed in vein grafts in 15 patients using this system. One procedure was complicated by an embolic event documented angiographically following intragraft delivery of urokinase but prior to stent implantation.